Top Headlines for 4/17

EducationSchools are controlled by the government, but they serve specific communities with niche needs. The Atlantic asks, “How can education be publicly funded but privately managed?” The Alabama Department of Education will replace the Birmingham Board of Education as decision makers for the state's fourth-largest school system, al.com reports. Schoology, an online learning platform that helps teachers organize lessons and collaborate with students, announced a $6 million Series B round of funding, Forbes reports. Child WelfareIn a report released earlier this month, the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare showed a drop in the number of children in foster care who were maltreated, the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports. Rhode Island is one of 11 states that have improved their disclosure laws related to children who died or nearly died as a result of abuse or neglect, according to a report released by The Children's Advocacy Instituteand First Star, a national nonprofit organization, the Providence Journal reports. Juvenile Justice

McDowell County in West Virginia is getting its first youth drug court to try to tackle one part the area’s devastating youth drug problem, the Charleston Gazette reports.